Tape roll holder and tear strip



Feb. 14. 1956 B. F. GILBRETH ET AL 2,734,575

TAPE ROLL HOLDER AND TEAR STRIP Filed Jan. 18, 1952 my. a

M QM INVENTORS 5AABAKA F. G/LBRET/l BENNYJ. W/ZL/AMS A TOENEY United States Patent TAPE ROLL HOLDER AND TEAR STRIP Barbara F. Giibreth, Nantucket City, Mass, and Benny J. Williams, Pompton Plains, N. J.

Application January 18, 1952, Serial No. 267,174

4 Claims. (Cl. 164-845) This invention relates to tape dispensers adapted for use with rolls of adhesive tape or any other sort of sealing tape or non-sealing tape such as Scotch tape, friction tape, bias tape, heat-sensitive pressure tape or the like.

While it is known that various sorts of tape dispensers have been proposed in the past, the dispenser of this invention has particular advantages in its simplicity and low cost which should have appeal both to manufacturers and users. An object of the invention is to provide a simple dispenser which may be packageable with a roll of tape as a fiat member and which later may be bent to a form which adapts it to the roll of tape and which enables a length of tape to be pulled oif the roll and cut on with a minimum of complication. A further object of the invention is to provide a dispenser which may be wrapped around the rim of the tape roll and which may be adjusted from time to time as the roll is used so that the dispenser fits upon the rim portions of the tape roll. Still another object of the invention is to design a dispenser blank in such a manner that it may be bent to its usable form with a minimum of effort and confusion.

The details of the invention are set forth in the accompanying drawings which may be read in connection with the detailed description below. In thedrawings, Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a segment of a tape roll with the dispenser of the invention in operating position; Fig.

'2 is a perspective view of a tape roll and dispenser; Fig.

3 is a developed plan of the tape dispenser; Figs. 4, 5 and 6 are front elevations of the dispenser in several positions of adjustment and as applied to a tape roll with different amounts of tape thereon; Fig. 7 is a developed plan of an alternative tape dispenser blank and Fig. 8 is a perspective elevation showing the embodiment of Fig. 7 applied to a tape roll.

A tape roll is shown at 10, the tape as usual being wound upon a cardboard ring 11. The dispenser 12 of this invention is mounted on the roll and comprises a body portion 14 which lies on the outside of the tape. The body portion is provided with a forward projection 16, the forward edge of which is serrated as at 18 to comprise a tearing edge. The rear portion of the body 14 overhangs the tape roll as at 28, providing a ledge which may be moved rearwardly or to the right as shown in Fig. 1 to stick to the free end of the tape as at 22. The body portion 14 carries depending skirts 24 on each side of the roll, which steady the dispenser and guide it along the rim of the roll, and prevent skewing of the dispenser on the roll. From the skirts integral tongues 26 project which extend inwardly toward the roll center and which are then bent toward one another around the cardboard spool 11 as shown in Figs. 2 and 4-6.

The dispenser is made, preferably, of thin metal which has sufficient thickness to make it reasonably rigid, but which is still thin enough to readily enable the user to bend the blank from its initial fiat form as shown in other figures.

The tongues 26 are of sufiicient length so that they may bend inwardly around the ring 11 when the roll is 2,734,575 Patented Feb. 14, 1956 ICC new and full, as shown in Figs. 2 and 4. As the tape is used the roll becomes thinner whereupon the tongues 26 may be rebent progressively, first to the form shown in Fig. 5 and then, as the tape roll becomes quite thin, to the form shown in Fig. 6. The material of the dispenser will have sufiicient rigidity so that the bending operations can be accomplished while the dispenser is assembled on the roll, the dispenser firmly embracing the tape roll so that it may not slip off or become lost.

We have provided certain refinements in the dispenser to increase its utility, in the form of apertures or perforations 28 inline with the lateral edges of the body portion 14 where said body portion intersects the skirts 24. These apertures 28 decrease the amount of material on the bend line so that bending of the dispenser around the tape is made easy for the user. Also, the margins of the body portion 14 and the skirts 24 may be notched as at 30 to make sure that bending of the skirts occurs at the proper zone. In similiar fashion, apertures 32 may be formed in the dispenser blank along the line of juncture of the body portion 14 and the forward portion 16, to enable the forward portion 16 to be bent upwardly and outwardly from the dispenser as shown in Fig. 1. In

bending the portion 16 it is desirable to give it a configuration as shown, which assists the user to tear the tape easily along the tearing edge 18 as tape is drawn through the dispenser and is pulled upwardly for tearing around the edge 18.

The rear body portion 20 on the dispenser, as inferred previously, has utility in serving as an anchorage for the freed end 22 of the tape. After the piece of tape has been torn from the roll across the tearing edge 18, the dispenser may be slid around the roll, away from the free tape edge, until the portion 20 engages the loose end of the tape, bending it rearwardly whereupon the tape sticks to the outside of the portion 20 and holds the tape while the dispenser and roll are not in use. When it is desired to use a piece of tape, the dispenser is slid around the roll to the left as shown, the portion 20 then disengaging the tape end 22 and leaving the tape end extended from the roll for easy grasping by the user. Then, the tape is unwrapped to the desired length and torn as previousl mentioned against the tear edge 18.

In the alternative arrangement shown in Figs. 7 and 8,

the body 14, the tear portion 16 and the portion 20 are constructed as previously described. Likewise, the guide skirts 24 are formed in the same manner as in the first embodiment. However, one of the tongues 34 extends laterally from one of the skirts adjacentthe forward end of that skirt while the other tongue 36 extends laterally from the other skirt 24 from the rearward edge of that skirt. By this arrangement the tongues 34 and 36, when they are bent around the tape roll, will not interfere with one another. In initially forming the Fig. 7 arrangement on the tape roll, the ends of the tongues 34 and 36 will barely come together but after the tape roll is used and becomes thinner and as the tongues 34 and 36 are bent to fit the dispenser to the tape roll, these tongues will slip past one another without interference so that they may be bent all the way around the tape roll and thus avoid the more complex bending techniques which would be required in the first embodiment shown in Figs. 5 and 6.

As previously noted, either of the tape dispensers herein disclosed are intended to be furnished as a fiat blank with each tape roll sold so that it may be packaged with a minimum of space requirement. The simplicity of the device will enable even the most inexperienced user of tape to accommodate the dispenser to the roll to enable more successful and satisfactory use of the tape.

Though several embodiments of the invention are shown it is to be understood that the invention may be openers ,applied in various forms and in various environments. Changes may be made in the arrangements shown without departing from the spirit of the invention. Reference should be had to the appended claims for definitions of the limits of the invent-ion.

What is claimed is:

1. A tape dispenser for use with a roll of tape comprising a substantially rectangular body portion, one edge thereof being serrated for use in tearing the tape, the end of the body portion carrying said serrated edge being outwardly and forwardly curved, said body portion having integral tongues extending from opposite sides of the body portion and bent inwardly substantially at right angles from the 'body portion at the junction of said body portion and tongues along the sides of the tape roll, said tongues being parallel and of a width less than the length of said body portion to enable easy bending thereof, the rear end of said body portion extending rearwardly be *yond said tongues, and said dispenser being comprised in its entirety by a single piece of bendable sheet metal, said tongues lying on opposite sides of said body portion and being offset by the Width of the tongues, to enable bending-of said tongues toward each other at right angles intot-he opera-ting of the tape roll without interference with one another at points between the ends of the tongues.

2. A tape dispenser for use with a roll of tape comprising a substantially rectangular body portion, one edge thereof being serrated for use in tearing the tape, the end of the body portion carrying said serrated edge being outwardly and forwardly curved, said body portion having integral skirts extending from opposite sides of the body portion-and bent inwardly substantially at right angles from the body portion at the junction of said body portion and skirts along the sides of the tape roll, said skirts being of a width less than the length of said body to enable easy bending thereof, the rear end of said body portion extending 'rearwardly beyond said skirts, and said dispenser being comprised in its entirety by a single piece of bendable sheet metal, said skirts having integral tongues extending therefrom across the sides of the tape roll, said tongues being continuations of said skirts and being offset by the tongue width to enable bending the ends thereof toward each other into the tape roll opening without interference and substantially at right angles to the skirts, the bending lying between the ends of the tongues.

-3. A tape dispenser for use with a roll of tape comprising a substantially rectangular body portion, one edge thereof being serrated for use in tearing the tape, the end of the body portion carrying said serrated edge being outwardly and forwardly curved, said body portion having integral skirts extending from opposite sides of the body portion and bent inwardly substantially at right angles from the body portion at the junction of said body portion and skirts along the sides of the tape roll, said skirts being of a width less than the length of said body to enable easy bending thereof, the rear end of said body portion extending rearwardly beyond said skirts, and said dispenser being comprised in its entirety by a single piece of bendable sheet "metal, the roots of said skirts adjacent said body portion being apertured to ease the bending of the skirts over the edges of the tape roil, said skirts having integral tongues extending therefrom across the sides of the tape roll, said tongues being continuations of said skirts and being offset by the tongue width to enable bending the ends thereof toward each other into the tape roll opening without in terference, and substantially at right angles to the skirts, the bending lying between the ends of the tongues.

4. A tape dispenser for use with a hollow-cored roll of tape, comprising a sheet metal member, said member comprising a main portion substantially the width of the tape and embracing part of the roll circumference, said main portion having a serrated tear edge at one end, skirts integral with said portion at the lateral edges thereof overlying the tape edges, said skirts being bent along the edges of said portion substantially at right angles thereto to overlie the side faces of the tape roll, a tongue integral with each skirt and extending from the edge of each which is remote from said main portion, said tongues being narrower than said skirts and being ofiset from each other substantially by the tongue width, said tongues extending inwardly toward the roll center from their skirts so as to overlap the core hollow of the tape roll, the end portions of said tongues being bent inwardly across the inside of the roll core to hold the dispenser on the roll, the end portions of said tongues lying substantially in the same plane and at right angles to the planes of said skirts and unbent tongue portions and said end tongue portions lying substantially parallel to said dispenser main portion.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 251,170 Bonniol Dec. 20, 1881 2,003,326 Wellman June 4, 1935 2,284,807 Donahoo et a1. June 2, 1942 2,462,425 Pratt et al. Feb. 22, 1949 2,472,761 Reed June 7, 1949 2,528,958 Johnson Nov. 7, .1950 2,609,877 Hanington Sept. 9, 1952 2,664,194 Sharp Dec. 29, 1953 m MN 

